Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank merger talks collapse

Posted By TheNewsCommenter: From Cnbc.com: “Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank merger talks collapse”. Below is an excerpt from the article.

Merger talks between Germany's top two lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, have ended in failure.

"We have concluded that this transaction would not have created sufficient benefits to offset the additional execution risks, restructuring costs and capital requirements associated with such a large-scale integration," Christian Sewing, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement Thursday morning.

Reports about a merger between the two German lenders had been rife for months, heightening under the tenure of German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who has spoken out in favor of strong banks for the European nation. But there's been criticism too since it may lead to job losses.

A banking industry source with knowledge of the matter, who preferred to remain anonymous, told CNBC last month that there was not widespread support for the merger within Deutsche Bank.

"The general feeling is that the merger is not a great idea since Commerzbank doesn't have the same amount of credibility on the street as Deutsche Bank when it comes to clients and this can impact future trades," the source said.

Deutsche Bank is planning cuts at its U.S. equities business, including prime brokerage and equity derivatives, to win over shareholders unhappy about its performance, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Dutch bank Rabobank has reportedly canceled its plans to develop a cryptocurrency wallet, technology news outlet The Next Web states on May 23. As Cointelegraph reported, the bank had announced a cryptocurrency wallet service dubbed…

A recent meeting between U.S. Federal Communication Commission chairman Ajit Pai and the head of the Justice Department's antitrust division could presage unification over a planned T-Mobile-Sprint merger, a deal that DOJ staff recommended…